Midwinter Cocoa
by The Book Thief
Summary: Will's first Midwinter Solstice as a Ranger's Apprentice. Short and fluffy.


**Title:** Midwinter Cocoa

**Author:** the Book Thief

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings mentioned here are not mine; they belong to John Flanagan. No profit is being made from this work.

**Summary:** Will's first Midwinter Solstice as a Ranger's apprentice.

**A/N:** Unbeta'd. Just a short, cheery piece to celebrate the fact that Christmas is tomorrow! :D Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! 3

The day before Midwinter Solstice was exactly what one would expect in Araluen: it was cold. Snowdrifts were piled high around the small wooden cabin, and a fierce and bitter wind howled through the frosty air. Inside the cabin, however, a fire crackled cheerily in the fireplace, warming the main room. Will sat and watched the fames snap and pop as the Ranger Halt leafed through a collection of documents stamped with the seal of Araluen's royal family. Lulled by the fire, Will felt himself nodding off, until a distant noise prickled the edges of his consciousness. He got up from his chair and peered cautiously out the window at the snow-covered path that led up to the cabin. When he saw nothing but undisturbed snowdrifts, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Halt, there's someone out there," Will said in a worried voice, brown eyes wide.

Halt didn't look up from his papers. "It's Crowley," he said dismissively, and continued reading.

"But how –"

"It's Crowley because it's always Crowley. He's the only one twisted enough to brave this weather in the name of the Solstice spirit." Halt turned another page.

Will had by this point spent enough time with Halt to know that the gruff tone was the formidable Ranger's default way of expressing himself, but his natural curiosity drove him onwards. "But Halt," he started, "say it's not Crowley. Say it's some… bandit or something. How would you know? What then?"

Halt sighed in distinct annoyance as he finally looked up from his work. "How old do you think I am, boy?"

Will bit his lip, unsure of how to answer. He took in Halt's uneven salt-and-pepper beard and alert blue eyes. "Um… old…ish?" he hazarded, unsure if honesty was the best policy here.

Halt grunted. "And do you think I've lived to be 'old-ish' by being easily fooled by bandits?"

"Well… no," Will hadn't thought about it like that. "But –"

Halt held up a hand and began ticking items off his fingers. "The woods behind the cabin are rigged with numerous hidden bear traps within a twenty meter radius. The snowdrifts around the house have purposefully not been shoveled. The front porch is covered with ice and creaks if someone sets foot on it. The front door to the cabin also creaks like anything, especially in this weather. Furthermore, I heard Abelard and Tug call a greeting to another Ranger horse not a moment ago. Of course," he said, raising his voice and swiveling to face the door, "I don't need any fancy tricks to hear Crowley hovering outside on my porch because he hasn't yet gotten the message that he can't sneak up on me!"

"Damn." The front door creaked open and the Ranger Commandant Crowley poked his head through the doorway with a rueful smile. "Hi Halt," he said, stepping inside and stamping his boots out on the rug. "Hello, Will."

Will grinned at the welcome sight of the Commandant. "Hello, Crowley. Shall I go make tea?"

"I don't serve tea to people trying to break into my house," Halt growled, making Will pause on his way to the kitchen.

Crowley knew his friend too well to be bothered by this show of hostility, however. "Ah, Halt, you have yet to enter into the Solstice spirit, I see." He took a seat at the wooden table and nodded to Will. "Tell you what. In compliance with the wishes of that miser over there –" he gestured at Halt – "how about you make this instead of the tea?" Here, Crowley reached into the recesses of his muted green travelling vest and pulled out a small glass jar full of fine dark brown powder, handing it to Will.

Brimming with curiosity, Will unstoppered the jar and gave its contents an experimental sniff. The heady aroma of chocolate filled his nose. His face lit up, brown eyes wide. "Crowley… is this cocoa?"

Grinning, Crowley nodded and watched as Will clutched the jar to his chest and headed toward the kitchen, beaming.

"Your masochistic tendencies are still intact, I see," Halt remarked, glancing up at Crowley. "You rode all the way here just to give my apprentice a sugar rush from cocoa?"

"But it's _cocoa_!" Will's voice floated gleefully from the kitchen.

Crowley laughed. "See? Will's on my side. And can't a man spend a day visiting an old friend?"

Halt rolled his eyes, but packed up all his papers, placing them on a side table. "An old friend, yes. You, not so much."

"Halt!" Crowley gasped in his most dramatic voice, "You wound me!"

Will snorted at that as he reentered, passing out three steaming mugs of cocoa which the Rangers accepted gratefully.

"I think it would take more than my words to wound you, what with all the weight you're carrying," Halt said dryly, though he smiled into his mug just the same.

"Incorrigible. Simply incorrigible," said Crowley, shaking his head. "Remind me why I don't just have you demoted?"

"Because you'd miss my friendly and empathic disposition?"

Will took a hasty sip of cocoa to cover his laughter. "Ow!" he cried when the sweet liquid burnt his tongue, "It's hot."

Crowley chuckled but his eyes were kind. "Sometimes that's what happens when you boil water, you know. It gets hot."

Will attempted to level a glare at the Commandant, but the effect was spoiled by the smudges of cocoa around his mouth. He realized this and grinned, blowing carefully on the hot, rich liquid before taking another sip and closing his eyes in pleasure.

"Mmm…" Will said appreciatively, smacking his lips when he had finished the mug. "Crowley, this cocoa is a treat. Anyone for seconds?"

Halt shook his head. "Not for me. Why don't you save some for Gilan's next visit?"

Clearing the table, Will's eyes lit up anew at the thought of his friend. "Gilan's coming? When?"

"Do I look like a soothsayer to you?" Halt retorted, before relenting. "Tomorrow, if past years are any indication. For some reason, he claims to have nothing better to do on Solstice Day than come around here to annoy the living daylights out of me."

Will grinned, a wistful look in his eyes. "Excellent. It'll be like a real Solstice celebration." He carried the mugs to the kitchen for washing.

When Will was out of earshot, Crowley looked across the table at Halt and raised an eyebrow. "Has the boy never had a proper Solstice celebration before?"

Halt shook his head, voice low as he replied, "I doubt it. Arald treats all his people well, but I doubt there was ever enough to go around, even at Solstice. As an orphan, there can't have been much to celebrate in any case."

"Hm." Crowley's eyes were thoughtful as he sat back in his chair and regarded his friend calmly. "Well, I'm sure he'll love that winter cloak you've got hidden in your room just fine."

Halt blinked in an extreme display of surprise. "How did you know? And don't say 'because I just told you'."

Crowley leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. Over Halt's shoulder, Will stood in the kitchen, wiping the mugs. "He's an orphan, which means he's probably worn a properly fitted outfit maybe once in his life. It's the middle of winter and the's still got that threadbare thing –" he gestured to the coat rack near the doorway – " hanging around, when it doesn't look fit for a piece of sacking. You've already given him his weapons; he had them at the last Gathering. I know you, Halt, and as much as you hate to admit it, you'd never let any apprentice of yours suffer for want of such a simple thing as a good cloak."

"Yes, well," Halt muttered, avoiding the other man's gaze, "it could have been gloves."

"And I'm sure you have those too," Crowley said amiably.

Halt lifted a dangerous eyebrow. "Don't tell him."

"Afraid to be caught doing something nice?"

"I do have a reputation to uphold."

"Don't worry, my friend. Your secret is safe with me."

"Good," said Halt, just as Will rejoined them.

"What's good?" he asked.

"Noth –" Crowley began, just as Halt said, "It doesn—" Both men stopped.

Halt cleared his throat meaningfully. "All shall be revealed tomorrow. Provided, of course, that you can stop asking questions for that long."

Will got the hint and didn't press the issue, though it was a herculean effort to do so.

Crowley yawned and stretched. "Well, Halt, Will," he said, rising from his chair, "it's been a pleasure, but I've got to get home before nightfall."

Halt nodded and walked his friend to the door. "Good to see you."

Crowley donned his heavy cloak and clasped Halt's forearm. "He'll love the cloak, Halt," he said in a low voice.

Halt dropped his gaze and nodded. "Yes."

"Thanks for the cocoa, Crowley. It was delicious!" Will called as Crowley turned to go. "And… happy Solstice."

The Commandant smiled. "It was my pleasure. Happy Solstice, Will."


End file.
